Rich Elliott, Staff Writer

Updated 11:17 pm, Thursday, June 2, 2011

BRIDGEPORT -- Bridgeport Bluefish manager Willie Upshaw believed that outfielder Joe Borchard still had plenty of big-league value. An American League scout said this week that he believed Borchard would be signed by a major league organization at some point this season.

No matter what those around Borchard thought, it didn't match the assessment he had made of himself. He was not pleased with his production in 24 games with the Bluefish. He was not meeting his own expectations.

Borchard felt that he could no longer validate being away from his family, namely Ellie, his 4-year-old daughter; Charlie, his 2-year-old son; and Erin, his wife. Prior to Thursday's series finale against the Somerset Patriots, he announced his retirement.

"I just wanted to see if I could play at a level that is acceptable to me," Borchard said. "And I think I gave it a fair shake. It just wasn't in the cards. So that's kind of the way it goes.

"It's unfortunate on a number of different fronts, but at the end of the day, I have to make the best decision. And I think this is it."

Borchard, 32, was hitting .229 with three home runs and 14 RBIs this season. But he was hitless in his last 13 at-bats and was hitting just .140 (7-for-50) over his last 13 games.

Borchard played winter ball in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico during the off-season in an attempt to improve his game. In the end, the level of success he hoped to see simply was not there.

"It certainly wasn't because of a lack of effort," Borchard said. "When you kind of look at things objectively, I'm really the same player I've always been. At some point, you feel like you're just beating your head against the wall. It's time to allow that to run its course and move on to the next thing."

Borchard, a baseball and football star at Stanford, was selected by the Chicago White Sox with the 12th overall pick in 2000. He debuted in the big leagues with the White Sox on Sept. 2, 2002, and would play a combined 301 games over six seasons with the White Sox, Seattle Mariners and Florida Marlins from 2002-07.

Borchard hit .205 with 26 home runs and 77 RBIs at the big-league level. He hit a combined .268 with 154 home runs and 516 RBIs in 909 games in the minor leagues and in independent ball.

"He's been talking about it for a week or so," Upshaw said. "It's been kind of weighing on him. He came to a decision a couple days ago. He's a good player, a good teammate. I know he's a good clubhouse guy, a veteran guy who was good for us. You hate to see him go."

Borchard will head home to Charlotte, N.C., today to begin the next stage of his life. He hopes to stay in baseball, possibly as a scout. But he said he's sent his resume to a few companies in Charlotte, although he wasn't specific on what type of opportunities he's pursuing.

Borchard has played more than 1,200 games in his career. He walks away with no regrets.

"You do this for 12 years and really see every end of the spectrum, it seems like," Borchard said. "I really gave it every chance possible. At the end of the day, you really have nothing to be ashamed of. It's just things go a certain way and that's it and it's time to move on and get into whatever's next."